P'heer week stories
by Permianera
Summary: Short stories for P'heer week.
1. Warm

My contribution to P'heer week. We'll see how this goes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Korra or its characters.

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_She found herself back in that frozen cell, the cold metal chain being put back around her neck and the metal plate over her forehead._

"No!" She cried. "I can't do this again! No! No! NO!" P'li sat up quickly flames bursting out of her palms. "Get away!" She swung her right arm in an arc across her body, throwing flames that quickly died.

Someone grabbed her wrists and faced the palms of her hands away from her. "P'li it's ok, it was just a nightmare!"

As P'li tried to pull away, she realized that she was in a dark room only lit by the glow of the flames that she created. Zaheer was next to her, he was the one holding her wrists, obviously protecting himself as well at her from her fire. She was breathing heavily and her entire body was shaking. Her heart was pounding and she was sweating, yet she felt cold.

When she extinguished her fire and relaxed, Zaheer pulled the blanket up over her chest. If Ghazan and Ming hua had heard her cries, either of them could burst into the rock shelter Ghazan had made and demand to know what was wrong, only to be met with a sight that they would have rather not seen. They waited for about a minute, and when neither of their friends came, Zaheer let the blanket drop.

"Are you ok?" Zaheer asked facing her, his voice was very gentle. He put his hand on her upper back and began to move it in a circular motion. His other hand held hers

P'li's looked down. "Damn it." She hated for Zaheer to see her like this. With everything they were trying to accomplish, the last thing she wanted was for him to coddle her. She was all too happy that he had never seen her actual prison cell. She wanted things to be the way they were thirteen years ago, but with all that she and her friends had gone through, she knew that wouldn't be possible. They all now had their own issues to work out.

Zaheer was the only one who never had nightmares. P'li suspected it was because he had spent so much time in the spirit world during his imprisonment; a little fact that slightly annoyed her.

She knew when Ming hua and Ghazan were not sleeping well. A few times when she had been on night watch, she had seen Ming hua jerk awake and then immediately jump up and walk away from their camp site with her head hanging. Anytime that P'li had asked if she was alright, Ming hua would simply respond "Bad dream" without even looking at her as she walked away.

Ghazan would whimper, which always woke up Ming hua. Ming hua would nudge him with her foot until he awoke and then would look at him uncomfortably before quickly laying back down, pretending to be asleep. This all occurred before Ghazan was fully awake and knew what had happened. He himself would never admit that he had nightmares.

This was the first time P'li had ever woke up screaming. While it unnerved her that she had started firebending in her sleep, she was relieved that no combustion bending had occurred. Though the possibility that it could happen scared her.

"I'll be fine." She finally responded. "It was just a dream, I'll get over it."

"Was it about your childhood?" Zaheer asked.

"No it was that prison." P'li said, remembering the intense cold she had experienced for thirteen years. Even though they were far away from the North Pole and days had passed since her jail break, her insides still felt as though they were frozen. It was both from the extreme temperature and from the lack of human contact for over a decade.

Zaheer was quiet and she knew what was bothering him. He had felt guilty that things had gone awry thirteen years ago and that she and their friends were put into those prisons. She didn't blame him for what had happened; they had all agreed to go along with the plan. And if it weren't for him, she'd be chained up in another prison as a warlord's slave. The few times in her life that she was free were all thanks to him. She, Ghazan, and Ming hua all had Zaheer to thank for their freedom, before and after imprisonment. Ghazan would be dead, Ming hua most likely would be too if neither had ever met Zaheer.

"I'm cold." P'li said hoping to change the subject. She lit up a flame in her palm and looked into Zaheer's eyes. "You up for round two tonight?"

"Always." Zaheer smiled and he leaned in to kiss her. She extinguished the flame and wrapped her arms around him. He started at her lips and moved down to the right side of her neck making his way towards her chest.

P'li smiled. "I'm already feeling warmer."

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AN: Sorry no smut this time. I wanted to get this out before tomorrow and may have to do more editing later.


	2. Anger

AN: Ok trying to get this out before tomorrow. Took me forever to come up with something for anger.

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Zaheer sat in his new jail cell, now bound in chains. After recently gaining the ability to fly he was now chained to the earth. Though he could still float, there was one thing that would always bring him back down to the ground; the memory of her.

He remembered the last time he saw her. Fighting those two women and he had only looked at the right time to see the metal armor cover her head just as she was firing a combustion blast. It was all over in an instant.

With his first few days in jail, he tried to convince himself that maybe he had seen it wrong, maybe he had only thought that had died and that it had been someone else. Or maybe that blast did not kill her and she was still lying on the ground unconscious.

But the more he thought about it the more ridiculous it sounded. The combustion blast was enough to destroy her entire body, there would be nothing left of her.

Now he felt another emotion. Anger. Why did he let her fight those two metal benders by herself? Why couldn't he have taken care of the avatar faster so that he could help her? She had helped him deal with Tenzin, why wasn't he there for her?

Then he thought about her. Why did she have to leave him? How did she get so careless? She should have known better than to turn her back on the enemy. Why did Ghazan and Ming hua take so long to deal with those kids in the air temple?

He remembered the petty fights they would have. Him getting annoyed that she would leave things lying around, her getting angry at him for stealing the blankets. Stupid arguments over trivial subjects, and of course, her getting annoyed at him for bringing up Guru Laghima at times she thought were inappropriate. Those little moments were unpleasant, but now he'd give anything to have them again.

And of course, there were those little insignificant moments. Holding her hand, her resting her head on him, talking about random topics, never again would he have those.

It didn't matter. She was gone. If he had managed to escape this prison, she wouldn't be waiting for him in another. He had failed to kill the avatar making her sacrifice in vain. Everything they had done was for nothing. Already he had heard rumors that someone was stepping up to take control of the Earth Kingdom.

Maybe he could find a spirit in the spirit world who would take his airbending in exchange for her life. Or maybe she was lost in the fog of souls and he could find her there. It was all doubtful but it was worth a try.

Maybe things would change in time, but for now, he was angry that her life had ended so suddenly and he was the only person left who would miss her.

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AN: Looks like tomorrow is height difference.


	3. Height Difference

AN: This takes place after they first start dating.

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P'li sat close to Zaheer holding his hand. It had only been a few days since they had started dating. Because it was hard for her to get close to others, they were taking things slow and any sort of intimacy was new to them.

It had taken her two years to admit that she had feelings for him. For a while, she barely trusted him and only stuck with him because she felt that she had nowhere else to go. Her family was dead and others were afraid of her due to her height. And there was that tattoo on her forehead that marked her as a combustion bender. She also had little social skills which didn't help matters.

Zaheer had never been afraid of her. She wondered if he had wanted to use her as a weapon just as the warlord had, but he always told her that she could leave if she didn't want to stay with him. Over time, she was able to accept that he had no intention to hurt her and she slowly let her guard down.

She scooted closer, let go of his hand, and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. He looked up at her and smiled. She pulled herself into his lap, wrapped her other arm around him, and tilted her head down to kiss him.

But that was horribly uncomfortable. She was already a head taller than him and sitting on his lap did not help matters. Her back and neck would hurt too much which would ruin the moment.

"Mind if we switch?" she asked straightening her back.

"Not at all." Zaheer replied.

She slid off his lap and he climbed into hers. She pulled him close to her and they began to kiss again. This time it was much more comfortable.

_Much better. _She thought.

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AN: Okay I had so much trouble coming up with this one. It is a bit short. Tomorrow is seduction… oh dear. lol


	4. Seduction

AN: Yeah I had a lot of trouble with this one. Everything I wrote was just awful or ended up being a crack fic. (P'li wearing Guru Laghima themed lingerie with the words "Enter the Void" written across the front of the panties anyone?" I honestly think that not much seduction would be needed between these two, considering that they had little to know human contact for thirteen years. And I think looking at each other would be enough seduction. This theme would be much better in art form. So here is a very simple thing. Maybe I'll come up with something better later. I'm going to need to edit this later.

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Hours after breaking P'li out of prison, they had finally made it out of the North Pole and into the Earth Kingdom. When they figured that they were far enough away not to be found by any White Lotus members, they set up a camp site. Ghazan had made three rock shelters for them to sleep in and they were very close to a lake.

P'li looked at Zaheer and smiled. They hadn't let go of each other the entire ride from the North Pole, on to the Ferry, and into another car they had stolen.

"So, will you help me get out of these rags?" She looked down at the clothes she had worn for the last thirteen years. "And help keep me warm?" She gave him a smile and then glanced at the shelter.

"How could I not?" Zaheer grinned and wrapped his arm around her waste. The two started walking towards their shelter.

"Uh, aren't you going to wash up first?" Ghazan asked cringing a little.

P'li looked back at him. "Thirteen years is a very long time." She said. She then wrapped her arm around Zaheer's shoulders and smiled. "We may be awhile by the way."

* * *

They sat down in their shelter and the two started kissing.

"Okay," P'li began pulling away. "Just remember, I haven't done this in thirteen years. Go easy on me."

"Of course." Zaheer nodded. "I'll be very gentle." He then raised himself up and kissed her combustion tattoo and then pushed his forehead against it, something she had always loved.

* * *

A little while later outside the shelter, Ghazan and Ming hua sat around a campfire P'li had made before she and Zaheer had goen off.

"You know, she is right. 13 years is a long time." Ghazan pointed out looking at Ming hua.

Ming hua blushed and didn't dare look at him. "Uh y-yes it is. It is a very long time." She looked around quickly. "I'll go find us some food."

Ghazan sighed as he watched her walk off.

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AN: yeah I fail at seduction


	5. Death

AN: Ah I hate P'li's death. One of those moments of the show that I try to block from my memory and choose to instead rewrite in my mind. But here we go.

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"No more running, no more prisons."

He looked just in time to see the metal covering her head, just as she was firing off a combustion blast. He had loved her for years, waited to be reunited with her for over a decade in prison, held her while she cried, fought with her over petty things, had many nights of passion, and in an instant, it was all over. Never again would he see her, talk to her, hold her, hear her voice, sleep next to her, and there would be no happy blissful free life together.

_Let go of your earthly tether._

Could he really let her go? After everything they had been through? She had meant everything to him.

No, she was gone. The last thing he could do for her was to make sure that they would not fail. He picked up the avatar and walked to the edge of the mountain.

_I'm sorry._ He stepped over the edge.

_Enter the void_.

_Empty_

_Become Wind_

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AN: Very short. Damn it Zaheer why did you let her go so quickly! I wanted to see you mourn!

The Scribbler's Katastrophe: Ah yes seduction would have been awesome for fanart. I haven't seen any fanart for P'heer week? Which I realize that it can take much more time to draw than write. But it would be awesome if someone could draw P'li in that lingerie.


	6. Secrets

AN: Secrets. Thought I was going to have trouble with this one. It got a little dark.

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P'li sat up in bed, holding fire in her palms for light. Zaheer had fallen asleep hours ago. Her own thoughts were keeping her awake. These were memories that she would not share with anyone.

She had spoken with Zaheer many times about her past, about her life when she was held captive by the warlord. He knew much of what had happened. But still, she had yet to tell him the most vile things the warlord had made her do. Those memories caused too much pain and any attempt she made to speak of them ended with her freezing and quickly changing the subject. It made her angry that she couldn't overcome those moments of trauma.

Zaheer knew she hadn't told him everything and he was fine with it. He simply told her that she could tell him when she was ready, if that day would ever come.

She was grateful that he never demanded to know to know those details of her life; but she wished that he knew. It would be the very last bit of intimacy she could share with him. Unfortunately, the very thought of those moments made her physically sick and she wasn't sure if she could ever speak of them.

That was why she hated those in power. They could get away with anything simply because they were either born into the right family or they were strong enough to take power from others. Leaders had gotten away with the same thing that had gotten her put in prison for thirteen years, and it made her angry. No one had cared when she and many other people had been taken and forced to learn combustion bending. She was the only one that survived the training. Nothing was done as dozens in poverty died each day from starvation, violence, cold, unsanitary living conditions, and sickness. Nothing was done about human trafficking. Those with money were not concerned about people who worked all day in factories for little pay, only to have most of their income taxed. And no one cared when a ruler conscripted their own citizens into the military, many being children. Those who had the power to stop these evils would not do so for political reasons. They were protected from the true evils of the world and would never experience the misery that many others had. Sure a good benevolent leader may come along, but what would stop a tyrant from coming along after?

She looked back down at Zaheer. She had been forced to do horrible things to others as a child, all because of a lie. And terrible things had been done to her. Things she'd rather forget. Maybe one day she could tell him all her secrets. But for now, she would keep them for herself. Luckily for her, he was ok with that.

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AN: Okay this one got very weird. Some of the issues that I had with Korra came out in the second last paragraph. Also figured I give P'li some motivation for being an anarchist. Spirit World is tomorrow's theme.


	7. Spirit World

AN: Last day of P'heer week. This one is very short. I got the idea from a Tumblr Post from Ask Zaheer. She seriously has the best art blog on Tumblr. tagged/p'li

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Day after day, he entered the spirit world and entered the fog. There he searched for her. The fog was heavy and he couldn't use his air bending to clear it away as bending couldn't be used in the spirit world. Some days he thought he had caught a glimpse of her, but whoever it was faded away quickly.

He had seen other lost souls, one being a general from the Fire Nation from the 100 Years War and he thought he had briefly seen another combustion bender. But he still had not found P'li.

He would search for her every day, even if it took an eternity.

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AN: I really enjoyed P'heer week. Now back to other fanfics. I'd love to see a fic where he actually does find her. If I wrote it, it would be super cheesy.


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